In battle, confrontation is done, directly, victory is gained by surprise.
Sun Tzu, "The Art of War"

Last Update: 31 Oct 02

The following instructions are provided in order to help our Fear raids run more smoothly, improve our odds of survival, and generally ensure a pleasant, rewarding, and successful raid experience for all involved. Some, but not all of us, have been to Fear. For those who haven't, here's what to expect. For those who have, this will become our standard battle plan:

Before I even begin explaining the plan, there are few facts you must simply accept about The Plane of Fear:

You will probably die multiple times. You may end the raid with less experience than when you arrived.

If we are to be successful, we must work as a very tight team. There is no room for heros here. Know your job. Do it. Follow instructions you're given.

No matter how well-prepared we are, and how well-executed our plan, you will probably still die. This is a simple fact of life in Fear.

Discipline may be the biggest factor in our victory, particularly during the break-in.

Table of Contents

Turn off all Luclin models prior to logging in. Minimum lag is important.

Meet at the Fear portal in the caves in Feerott. BE ON TIME. Casters, especially clerics, are highly encouraged to bind themselves next to the rock just off to the left side when you pass through the final illusionary wall. It will make recovery from a possible bad entry much faster. Melees should consider binding in Freeport, Oggok, or Grobb.

There are aggressive mobs in/around the caves. Exercise caution when approaching. Most are undead.

Groups will be announced and formed at the Fear portal. These may or may not be the final "fighting groups". Primary initial consideration is to form groups in whatever fashion the raid leader deems necessary to "break" Fear. The raid leader may elect to initially enter Fear with less than the full force. Cleric bots will not be included in the initial assault.

Groups should be fully buffed, spare no expense. Clerics will Death Pact their enchanters. Enchanters will Cha buff themselves. Also, everyone gets Spirit of Wolf (or equivalent), See Invisibility, and, just prior to entry, Invisibility.

If possible, everyone will be given a modrod2 and a modrod1.

Groups may be rearranged later once we are in Fear and have "broken" the Plane.

Examine the following MAP that EQ Maps has made available. Used without permission, so I hope they don't mind.

One monk, shadowknight, or necromancer will be sent into Fear to Feign Death and act as our "eyes" at the portal, so we know the current positioning of mobs inside who might be awaiting our arrival.

One monk, shadowknight, or necromancer will be sent into Fear to Feign Death and act as our "eyes" at the west wall camp location, so we know the current positioning of mobs inside who might be lurking near our break-in camp spot.

One monk, shadowknight, or necromancer will be sent into Fear to use Feign Death to train mobs away from the portal-to-west wall area, in order to provide us the best possible chance at undetected passage to the west wall camp.

When the portal area and the path westward looks clear, the raid leader will instruct the break-in team to enter, with a short pause between groups. When zoning in, each group will arrive at B on the map, facing North, with the one-way portal directly behind them. Taking a quick left turn, they will run directly west to the zone wall as fast as possible, attempting to do so undetected.

Anyone detected and aggro'd on the way westward will continue running, bringing the aggro'd mobs with them.

Everyone will huddle tightly together to reduce aggro radius. If there is no aggro, melees will form a defensive semi-circle around the casters. Casters will keep invis up if they still have it. The Main Assist will bring theirs down and wait for something to come find us.

Pet classes will NOT summon pets at this time.

Enchanter will mez wandering adds as they arrive, while the melees, pets, and damage casters kill the enemy one by one, with everyone assisting the MA. Damage casters will be aggressive on the first few mobs, in an effort to quickly reduce enemy numbers. Discipline may well be the difference between a clean break and a exceptionlly difficult CR. Everyone will ASSIST the MA at all times.

NO ONE will sit until told it is safe to sit.

Anyone forcibly shadow-stepped by a scareling will stop, count to 10 and look around, and proceed back to the group(s) ONLY if they are very close and have little or no aggro. If they are unsure of where they've landed, or have multiple new mobs attacking you, they will get an /loc, stand still, and die.

Everyone must be ready, at any time, for any of the following possible instructions:

"EVAC! EVAC!" - Protect the Evac'rs who immediately begin Evacs to South Ro.

"UPPER LEDGE! UPPER LEDGE!" - Immediately move southward along the west wall to the southwest corner of the zone, high on the wall, while staying tight together during the move.

Anyone killed will immediately send an /loc to the pre-assigned "corpse draggers" and consent them, and then wait for a possible "no-tell" rez.

Once the Plane is deemed "broken" (all wanderers near the portal have been killed), additional forces (possibly including Cleric bots) will be moved in to the "safe spot" we've created.

Do NOT break mez. Enchanters will be our primary crowd control. A single broken mez is a potential wipe-out.

Melees (especially plate-heads), be prepared to tank-mez if you are told too, and only if you are told to.

No AE spells except enchanter stuns.

Mages - be prepared to pet-mez if told to.

Necros - be prepared to twitch LOTS. Be prepared to fear mobs we may wish to fear-kite (particularly Glare Lords).

Wizards - be prepared to stun Scarelings repeatedly to prevent players "blinking" (Scarelings force their targets to Shadowstep a short distance away, causing them to aggro more mobs before running back to camp). Be prepared to stun Glare Lords repeatedly, to prevent them from Dispelling our buffs.

Casters in general - avoid "ping-pong" by standing in melee range when you expect you'll get aggro from your spell.

Everyone - watch "creep" (following each mob, return to camp, don't stand out in the open). During pulling, stand when incoming is announced. Be very careful about sitting in combat. Fear mobs hate people sitting, and will frequently leave an MA to go hit a sitting caster, even if that caster has not yet cast a spell on them, and in spite of whatever aggro the MA has built.

Once we either (a) complete as many mobs as we can, or (b) get "EverHead", or (c) decide to call it off for some reason, people will be TL'd or ported out, and clerics (and others) will be re-imbursed for gem costs. We will not we walking out through the temple.

Please do your best to familiarize yourself with these instructions as best as you are able. You might even consider having a printed copy with you when we gather at the start of raids, so you can follow along as we go and see how it all falls into place. Careful adherence to this plan will play a crucial role in our success or failure in raiding Fear.

If at some point, I ask you if you've read these instructions, /salute me and say "Abso-freakin'-lutely!". Otherwise you may spend the afternoon somewhere other than Fear. If I can't trust someone to have enough discipline to read the instructions here, I'm not so certain I can trust them to exert enough discipline to keep from wiping us all out on a Fear break.